Alternate Preference
by Two-Tailed mouse
Summary: Fishlegs just doesn't get it. Why has Snotlout, of all people, kissed him, of all people? He has lots of questions, and just like any good researcher, he's not going to rest until every single one of them is answered. Meanwhile, Snotlout is more concerned about keeping his secret just that, a secret. Which one of them will get what he wants? Rated T just to be safe.
1. Saved by the boar

**What's up guys! I've noticed that Snotlegs (Snotlout/Fishlegs) has become quite a popular pairing, thanks to episode 5 of Netflix's Race to the Edge series, Big Man on Berk. I am a great supporter myself. However, I have only found a single fanfiction about those two, so I've decided to take the initiative to write one myself. While I enjoy constructive criticism, this is still my first fanfiction, so please take it easy on the reviews. Keep in mind that english is not my mother language, so if you find any kind of error, please warn me about it through PM so I can I avoid it in the future.**

 **This story takes place in the Dragons: Race to the Edge timeline. Chapter 1 specifically, happens near the end of episode 8, Crushin it.**

 **Without further ado, enjoy!**

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Taking care of Gobber was _hard_.

Now that's something Snotlout never thought he'd say. In fact, he had never thought he'd ever have to take care of Gobber on the first place. Yet, there he was, chasing a grown-up man around to keep him away from anything sharp.

And as if having to listen to the blacksmith's inconvenient babbling whilst a bloodthirsty dragon crept in the woods wasn't enough, it was also the first time Snotlout got to be alone with Fishlegs ever since the Scauldron incident. How much he _wished_ he hadn't kissed that boy on the cheek! What was he thinking? Well, at least they were both busy doing different things, with the taller Viking fixing up Dragon's Edge and the shorter one trying to distract Gobber so he wouldn't hurt himself.

Still, it was like Snotlout could feel the blonde's eyes piercing his back. It shouldn't take long until-

"Snotlout? There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Oh no… He knew this day was coming. He just hoped it wouldn't be so soon.

"Yes? What is it, Fishlegs?" Snotlout quickly responded, not looking back. He tried to keep his voice stable, as if he didn't know what the question was.

"Well… Remember a few days ago, w-when I thought I was allergic to Meatlug, and then Gothi h-hypnotized me to help me get t-through it?" Fishlegs sounded _very_ hesitating.

"Go on." The brunette finally found the courage to turn around, seeing as the other male was as nervous as him.

"You see, I don't record anything after that up to the point I was riding the Scauldro-"

"I thought Hiccup told you what happened!" Snotlout was desperate to get the conversation over with, even to let his cool exterior flinch for a moment.

Fishlegs looked at him with sorrowful eyes, seemingly understanding the source of his behavior.

"True. But there's still something I don't quite comprehend." Snotlout knew. Fishlegs knew that Snotlout knew. Why not get to the point already? "You told me I broke your heart and kissed me on the cheek. Care to explain that?"

And that's when Snotlout felt himself fall apart. He had promised himself he'd never let anyone find out about his… _alternate_ preference. He was not like some other people. He still had a way out of this. The twins were just too oblivious to get the hints. Hiccup refused to acknowledge it. Astrid did mention it a few times, but she was just joking.

However, Fishlegs was far more intelligent and observant than all of them. And seeing that those once scarred eyes were now determinate, Snotlout knew he wouldn't drop the subject until he got an answer.

Both of their dragons, who were formerly playing, seemed to notice the tension in the air and started to look at them with worried expressions.

Snotlout began his explanation with a sigh.

"It's complicated…" He sat on a tree stump while watching Gobber, who had fallen asleep on the ground, sucking his own thumb. The blond boy took a seat to his left. The two of them stared at the floor. "You're big and strong, and I gotta admit that I've always admired that about. But your weak personality always gets in the way."

"My what now?"

"My point is, when I saw how brave and upstanding you became after the hypnosis, I guess I just couldn't help myself." Snotlout finally looked at Fishlegs, who gazed back in return. Their eyes met. Their faces were only a few inches apart from each other. "I fell in love with you."

Fishlegs was agape in disbelief. Even blinking appeared to be a difficult task for him.

Snotlout himself couldn't believe he had actually said it. His heart was pounding so hard he could hear it. His secret was no more. Snotlout Jorgenson is freaking bisexual. Not only that, but he tends to like bigger and dominating men better.

"I-I mean… I didn't fall for _you_ you." Snotlout awkwardly corrected himself. "I fell for Thor, your alter ego. Yet, when you returned to normal, I felt so mad at myself for not being able to confess my love for him that I couldn't think straight. That's why I kissed you. But in my eyes, you were still Thor then." A few moments of silence followed, until Snotlout decided to break it. "And now, I'm never gonna see the love of my life again." He got up, realizing that Gobber had gone missing.

Lacking the patience to search for him, Snotlout, along with Hookfang, went to clearing up the mess that the Rumblehorn had made, since Fishlegs was clearly too shocked to do it right now. The dragon dentist would come back soon. Hopefully.

A few minutes later, none in which a single word was spoken, Fishlegs and Meatlug also got to work. And that's when they heard Stoick's voice.

"Where's Gobber?"

"Yoo-hoo!"

As if on cue, said man ran by, chasing a group of boars.

"Come back, please! Ha ha!"

Snotlout mentally thanked Odin. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if he had to tell Stoick the Vast he had lost the man's very best friend. Analyzing the situation, the brunette found the perfect answer to the previous question.

"Boar pit."

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 **So, what did you think? Pretty short, right? I'm sad to announce that most chapters will indeed have more or less this extension. I have already writen Chapter 2, and if this story recieves some feedback, I'll post it. Please, leave your thoughts, either good or bad, on my piece of work!**


	2. Two Things

**Thanks for everyone who has reviewed, followed or favorited this story! You guys are the best! It is thanks to you that I've decided to continue to write my first fanfiction. Yay! Also, this chapter was particularly fun to write. Even though I like Snotlout better as a character, writing in Fishlegs perspective just feels more natural. It must be because he and I have so much in common.**

 **Chapter 2 takes place the night after the events of episode 9, Quake, Rattle and Roll.**

 **Without further ado, enjoy!**

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Fishlegs recorded it now.

His fight with the Catastrophic Quaken awoke two things inside of him. The first one was a feeling he had never felt before: bravery. The second one was the memories of his time as Thor Bonecrusher.

Everything was so clear. The baby rescue, Stoic's axe, some fake story, his failed attempt to kill the Scauldron… And during that whole time, he didn't get a glimpse of Snotlout's crush on him, even though it was so visible.

It was so weird to know that he had done so much without ever being afraid or worrying about the consequences. He had no idea of his capability to pull half of those stunts! His _physical_ capability anyway. The regular Fishlegs would never be psychologically able to execute any of that.

Not only that, but he managed to get the Gronkels to live on their island again. And, in a way, it was all thanks to Snotlout. Sure, fighting dirty wasn't the answer, but if not for the shorter one, Fishlegs wouldn't have returned to Dark Deep.

However, there was something tingling in the back of his mind. Why _did_ Snotlout help him? Of all the dragon riders, Snotlout was the last one Fishlegs expected to get help from, especially because they haven't spoken much to each other ever since Snotlout made him promise not to talk about _that_ ever again. So what was different now?

Fishlegs wanted some answers, and just like last time, he wasn't going to back away until he had them. That's why he decided to visit Snotlout's section of the Dragon's Edge that same night. The brunette was preparing himself for sleep.

"Fishlegs?" He was truly confused. "What are you doing here this late?"

The words wouldn't come to him at first, so he took a few breaths to calm himself down.

"Why did you do it?" Fishlegs cursed silently for not being able to get straight to the point, as usual.

"Do what?"

"Teach me to fight the Catastrophic Quaken."

Snotlout cringed for a brief second. He looked down at the wooden floor while swinging his arms back and forth slightly, like he usually does when he's disconcerted, before gazing back at Fishlegs again.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Fishlegs shook his head no, annoyed. Snotloud's lame attempt to buy some time so he could think of an answer was obvious. "Because you needed assistance and nobody else seemed to be willing to offer you some. I'm _sorry_ for being polite!" He finally said, scoffing at that last part.

Fishlegs sighed. He was really starting to get angry.

"Snotlout, we both know you're terrible liar-"

"No, I'm not!" He tried to defend himself. The blonde boy simply looked at him with a blank expression. "Sorry."

"As I was saying, we both know you're a terrible liar, so why don't you tell me the truth already? You said yourself you didn't care about Dark Deep or the Gronkels, and that hasn't changed. So what has?"

Snotlout crossed his arms in a defensive manner. He simply refused to look at Fishlegs in the eyes, staring at the corners of the room instead. The taller one realized they wouldn't get anywhere like that, so he decided to take a wild guess.

"Does it have something to do with your love for my alter ego?"

Snotlout's eyes flashed wide open. He uncrossed his arms and let his chin fall.

"You promised me you'd never talk about that again!"

"You kinda forced me into it, don't you think?!"

Hookfang's master seemed to settle down.

"You're right. It does have something to do with Thor. Let's just say that, you have your experiments, and I have mine."

"What's that even supposed to mean?!" Fishlegs responded harshly. He couldn't comprehend why he was being so impatient about it.

"You see, I was actually hoping that, if you acted like Thor, only once, maybe, just maybe, I would be able to trigger him back."

Fishlegs didn't know for sure if he had quite caught the true significance of those words. They simply sounded strange, as if Snotlout was speaking another language.

"Wait. You're trying to tell that the only reason why you helped was because you expect to revive Bonecrusher's spirit in me?"

For the first time in a long time, Fishlegs saw true shame in Snotlout's face.

"It's crazy, I know. Although my plan didn't work entirely, you have got to admit that something happened at Dark Deep, right?"

That sentence made Meatlug's owner frown.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, c'mon! I saw your face when that Whatever Quaken rolled your way. You had the exact same expression as Thor while he was fighting the Scauldron! Plus, you're not even acting like yourself right now. This impatience, those insults… I-it's not you, Fishlegs!"

Just then, Fishlegs realized he was horrified. Horrified because, deep down, he knew Snotlout was right. The worst part was, Snotlout smiled when he said that last statement. He was _happy_ that he was able to break Fishlegs. Twice, none the less.

When he felt tears build up in his eyes, Fishlegs ran away, back to his own hut. Something from his other self was rising up inside of him, and it wasn't just his memories.

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 **Don't forget to leave a review telling me how you felt about this chapter. Your opinion is really important to me!**


	3. Being a leader is no easy task

**I _just_ realized that i didn't write the disclaimer on the previous chapters! O.O Anyway, own nothing. The same goes for anything from Chapters 1 and 2.**

 **I would like to give especial thanks to, Monrou Beta, for your continous support.**

 **Without further ado, enjoy!**

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"W-wait! Fishlegs!"

That was everything Snotlout had time to say before Fishlegs disappeared in the night. He felt bad. Like, _really_ bad. He had no intention to make his poor friend cry.

He _could_ have run after him. But it was just so *gulp* dark. Snotlout would never admit it, but darkness scared him a bit, so he decided to go to sleep and apologize in the morning.

* * *

"SNOTLOUT, YOUR SHEETS'RE ON FIRE!"

Snotlout's heart almost jumped out of his mouth. He sat up hastily, screaming and searching around for danger. As his eyes shifted up, he noticed two very similar figures gazing down at him.

"Ruff! Tuff! I almost had a heart attack! Are you trying to kill me?!" He yelled at them, finally settling down to take a breath.

"That'd be cool, but no." Ruffnut answered with that signature grin of hers.

"Hiccup wants to talk to us." Her brother explained. "But don't worry, we have a plan."

"No matter what he says, just respond 'I didn't do it'." The girl once again began to talk. "If we all say it at the same time, he'll have no choice but to accuse Astrid or Fishlegs."

"We can still try to kill you some other time, though." Tuffnut assured him.

Snotlout looked at them with an expression that said, 'What are you talking about?'. His face became blank as he got up and dusted himself off.

"You know what, I don't care. Just leave so I can change. I'll meet the rest of you at the clubhouse." He dismissed them while turning around.

"Fine, then!" Tuffnut scoffed, starting to leave. "Just don't come complainin' to us when you get punished for breakin' Toothless' saddle!" They were almost at the door when he finished his sentence.

"What's that you said?"

"Nothing." Ruffnut shook it off.

By the time Snotlout turned back, both of them had already left.

He swears to Thor he'll never understand those two.

* * *

Snotlout couldn't help but yawn when he and Hookfang finally reached the eye of Dragon's Edge. He's usually sleeping at that time of the day. Everyone else was already there, even the dragons, except for one person.

"What's so important you have to wake us all up so early to tell?" He complained, still a little grumpy.

"It's eleven in the morning, Snotlout." Astrid pointed out.

"Exactly."

"Guys, focus here." Hiccup called for them, apparently nervous. "I have an announcement to mak-"

"I didn't do it!" Both twins yelled at the same time.

"But I haven't even said what it is yet." Hiccup protested.

"Oh, right. Go on." Tuffnut encouraged him.

"As I was saying, Fis-"

"Don't worry. We won't interrupt you this time." Now it was Ruffnut's turn to talk.

Hiccup was clearly growing impatient.

"Fishlegs's gone missing." He spat out before anyone could say anything else.

"What?!" Snotlout exclaimed, suddenly recording what he was supposed to do.

Hiccup, Astrid and Ruffnut stared at him in confusion.

"I didn't do it!" Tuffnut claimed again. Only then he seemed to realize what had happened. "Wait, since when do you care about Fishlegs?"

Snotlout became aware of his situation.

"Since… never. It's just shocking, you know, is all." He laughed nervously while scratching the back of his head.

To his content, the others just shook it off and returned their attention to Hiccup.

"But how do you know he's missing?" Astrid questioned. "He could be studying the island, like usual."

"Without Meatlug?" Hiccup argued. "I don't think so."

"What do you think could've happened to'im?" Ruffnut asked, gesturing to her brother.

"I don't know. Maybe he was abducted by man-eating fairies in his sleep!" He responded.

"Yeah!" The other twin agreed. "Right now, the fairies must be making experiments on him to figure out how humans work!"

"Guys, Fishlegs was _not_ kidnapped by fairies." Hiccup assured them, rolling his eyes.

"Right! That's what they said about uncle Sharpelbow!" Tuffnut commented sarcastically. "His body was never found."

Snotlout just couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Why are we wasting our time with made up stories when we should be out there, looking for Fishlegs?" He climbed on Hookfang.

"But-" Ruffnut tried to argue.

"No 'but's!" Snotlout cut her off middle sentence. "We need a search party! Ruff, Tuff, you guys stay here and look after Meatlug in case he returns. Astrid, you search the west coast side. Hiccup, you take east. I'm going through the center of the island!"

"Who died and named you captain?" Astrid looked confused about his sudden change of behavior.

"Apparently, Hiccup's leadership skills." Snotlout responded, earning a glare from the younger boy. "What are you all waiting for? Go, go, go!"

And with that, he took off.

Snotlout couldn't remember a time in his life when he felt so guilty, so he put up a wall of rage to cover it. If it wasn't for him hurting Fishlegs' feelings and being too afraid to go after him, the blonde wouldn't have disappeared. He didn't know what he would do if Fishlegs ended up… No. It wouldn't come to that! Snotlout was determinate to fix his mistake, no matter what!

The last thing he heard before flying out of ear range was:

"Has anyone seen Toothless' saddle?"

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 **Please, tell me what you think. I won't be able to improve if you don't.**


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